The increased pollution of water systems throughout the country has created a tremendous demand for clean potable water of a known source. Health fears have risen as a result of the contamination of various domestic water supply systems with chemicals which either cause the closure of the system or increase the health risks to its users.
Stand alone water coolers have been known in the office environment for many years. Originally, purchased and utilized as a convenience, it has now become increasingly popular due to health fears concerning the piped in municipal water supply. In the home, there has been an increased demand for bottled water from a known source. The water has been typically sold as spring, mountain, purified, or distilled water. While the demand for bottled water has increased in the home, it has not replaced the convenience of tap water available from the municipal supplier.
Suppliers of spring water have attempted to supply the domestic user with water bottles and coolers like those found in the office environment. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,646,944, 4,516,693, 4,373,647, 4,293,082, 3,966,093 and 3,843,021 are all variations on the office environment cooler, a stand alone unit which takes up unavailable floor space in the typical kitchen.
In supermarkets, two and one-half gallon plastic containers of spring water or purified water, with attached spigots, are now widely available. However, the consumer has had to store these bottles of water in their refrigerator, requiring the continual opening and closing of the refrigerator to obtain water. This inconvenience has resulted in many people doing without the bottled water. Additionally, the bottles themselves have been designed to hold large quantities of water and therefore occupy a large amount of space in the refrigerator.
The disadvantages of bottled water has resulted in less use than would occur if delivery of the water would be similar to that of the domestic tap. The invention herein obviates the above disadvantages of storing bottled water in the family refrigerator, as well as making its delivery for usage more practicable.